KOLKATA: A few days after BJP President Amit Shah accused Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal of usurping central government funds of Rs 3.6 lakh crores, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to road transport minister Nitin Gadkari complaining that the central government has released just Rs 153 crores this fiscal year as against a requirement of Rs 1500 crores for construction of roads and bridges on the National Highways in the state.
"I have come to know that only Rs 153 crore has been allotted for West Bengal by your ministry for 2018-19 for national highway (NH-O) (commonly known as annual plan for national highways) works.Our government had sent a draft plan for road/bridge works under national highways in West Bengal worth Rs 1,499.62 crore for 2018-19," she wrote. She also stated that West Bengal had received Rs 2,096.70 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 1,605.85 crore in 2017-18.
Urging the transport minister 'not to deprive West Bengal of her share', the Chief Minister said that the allotment to West Bengal was lowest among allocations to all the states. The Trinamool Congress supremo had earlier accused the Narendra Modi-led Centre of depriving her state as a result of BJP's political vendetta against TMC. On the other hand, she has told her administration to complete all pending infrastructural projects before the Lok Sabha elections next year.